


Akamaru, Unlikely Matchmaker

by NeonKnight



Series: 1:55 to Rarepair Hell [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, BAMF Inuzuka Kiba, Bingo, Crushes, Denial of Feelings, Depressed Uchiha Sasuke, Falling In Love, Friendship, Healing, Healthy Relationships, Help, Hokage Hatake Kakashi, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Love Confessions, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Naruto is Just Naruto, Post-Canon, Pre-Slash, Protective Team, Rare Pairings, Rating May Change, Sharing a Bed, Slash, Slow Burn, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, Uchiha Sasuke Returns to Konoha, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-05-12 18:59:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19235182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonKnight/pseuds/NeonKnight
Summary: In which Akamaru finds a new friend, and Kiba is dragged along for the ride.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the Good Things Happen Bingo. The square filled is Animal Companion.
> 
> I think KibaSasu has such great potential, and I couldn't resist writing something for these two cuties.
> 
> My update schedule is a bit sporadic, since I have two other massive Naruto wips that I am ignoring for this. Whoops.
> 
> Sorry to anyone who is waiting on chapter 3 of Minor Miscalculation, by the way. I've been working on it when I can, but I hit a wall.
> 
> Enjoy!

For the past two weeks, Akamaru took off into the woods with lightning speed to gods only know where, and Kiba was left to wonder each time just what the hell had gotten into his ninken.

 

Although it was definitely strange behavior for him, Kiba decided it was no cause for worry. Akamaru always returned to him within twenty minutes, and the dog always appeared to have a spring in his step when he returned to his master's side. Maybe Akamaru found a new friend or a potential mate. Kiba didn't know for sure.

 

Today was different. Akamaru took off like he always did lately, but instead of returning within his usual time frame, the ninken was nowhere to be found almost an hour later. Now Kiba was worried. There was no way a dog of Akamaru's size could find trouble in Konoha, right?

 

Driven with concern, Kiba took off into the forest after Akamaru, letting the ninken's scent guide him through the thick foliage on the outskirts of the village. As he got closer, another familiar scent accompanied Akamaru's. He couldn't pinpoint who it was.

 

Finally when Kiba broke through the thick underbrush, he found his lost dog. Over by the river Akamaru was stretched out by none other than Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke sat pensively, staring out at the water, the fingers of his prosthetic arm gently stroking Akamaru's fur. The ninken drank in the attention, rolling onto his back for belly rubs. Sasuke let out a soft chuckle at the dog's antics and indulged him. So this is where Akamaru had gone for the past couple of weeks? To hang out with that asshole Uchiha of all people? The nerve.

 

Well, if Akamaru decided that Sasuke was worthy of his time, then maybe he wasn't so bad after all. Akamaru was an excellent judge of character, after all. It was just odd that the ninken would actively seek someone other than Kiba out for any reason other than hunting down a target for a mission, or retrieving help for injured teammates.

 

Steeling himself, Kiba approached the riverbank. Sasuke had to have noticed him coming a while ago, since Kiba didn't bother to conceal his chakra signature, but made no move to acknowledge his presence. With a small huff of annoyance at being ignored, Kiba plopped down next to Akamaru. Sasuke finally turned his head to face Kiba, expression neutral. His fingers never left Akamaru's belly, he just continued his petting.

 

The two shinobi allowed the silence to continue for a few long moments. They weren't ever close by any stretch of the imagination, and didn't know what to say to each other.

 

Finally Kiba was the one to break the silence. "So Akamaru has been ditching me every day to hang out with you, huh?" His tone was light. He didn't want to piss off one of the deadliest shinobi alive. He had some sort of self preservation instinct no matter what Sakura said.

 

"I suppose." Sasuke replied. He removed his hand from Akamaru. "I don't know why he keeps coming back here."

 

Akamaru whined at the lack of attention and squirmed over to the Uchiha, resting his massive head on Sasuke's thigh. A small smile tugged at his lips. He relented under the force of the ninken's sad eyes and scratched behind Akamaru's ear. The ninken leaned into the touch happily.

 

"Wow. He really likes you, Uchiha." Kiba's surprise at Akamaru's behavior outweighed his offence at the fact that his ninken was flat out ignoring him for Sasuke.

 

Sasuke didn't reply. Instead he divulged his full attention to Akamaru, who decided to lift his head from Sasuke's lap to aggressively lick his face. The look of shock and mild disgust on his face at the treatment sent Kiba into a laughing fit. He fell over and clutched his sides, cracking up so hard that they actually started to hurt.

 

"Hey! Stop that!" Sasuke cried indignantly. Kiba sat up as Akamaru knocked Sasuke over, continuing his assault on the poor Uchiha's face. As hysterical as the situation was, and he definitely wasn't going to let Sasuke live it down any time soon, Kiba figured he should probably rescue him from being licked to death.

 

"Akamaru! Stop!" Kiba commanded. The ninken ignored him. The traitor. "Quit it! Leave the poor guy alone." Again, no response. Kiba hauled himself to his feet, then lifted the massive dog off of Sasuke. Akamaru struggled in his grip, then finally stopped. Gods, what was with this mutt today? When he was sure that Akamaru wouldn't try to kill Sasuke with affection, he set Akamaru back down.

 

Sasuke stepped back a few feet during the altercation, wiping at his face with the sleeves of his plain black shirt.

 

"Sorry about that, Uchiha. Akamaru usually isn't like this. I have no idea what's gotten into him." Kiba knelt down to rustle the fur around Akamaru's neck.

 

"... It's fine." Sasuke murmured.

 

"Does he normally try to eat your face when he comes over here?"

 

"No. He usually just lays down next to me."

 

"Huh. Weird."

 

"Hn." Sasuke eyed Akamaru warily as he slowly made his way back to his spot on the riverbank, and Kiba almost lost it again. Uchiha was hilarious. A shinobi with almost no equal, the last living member of the most powerful bloodline in Konoha, was skirting his way around a _dog_.

 

_This is the greatest day of my life._

 

Letting a few guffaws escape, Kiba sat down next to Sasuke. The Uchiha's icy glare should have cowed him, but it just made the situation at least ten times funnier. The usually scary gaze was dampened by red cheeks, wild hair that had grass and twigs snarled into the strands, and rumpled clothing covered in dog hair. If a passerby had came across the two, they probably would have assumed that either a fight broke out, or that wild, crazy forest sex had transpired.

 

"We're never to speak of this, Inuzuka." Sasuke growled as he tried valiantly to straighten his clothes. Oh man. This guy was too much.

 

"Sure. Wouldn't dream of it, Uchiha." Kiba's contradictory grin made Sasuke's scowl deepen. It really was too fun to mess with him. Kiba should do it more often.

 

Wait. Was he seriously thinking about actually hanging out with Sasuke?

 

If he really thought about it, Kiba didn't truly have a problem with the Uchiha. Sure, he thought Sasuke was an arrogant asshole when they were kids, and then when he left the village, Kiba was as pissed off about it as the rest of the village. Now, however, ever since Sasuke had returned to Konoha for good, Kiba didn't see a reason to dislike him. He was subdued, kept to himself for the most part unless his former teammates forced him to get out and socialize, and didn't go looking for trouble. Sasuke was just trying to live his life, and as far as Kiba had seen, made an honest effort to improve his reputation.

 

Besides, Sasuke looked like he could use more friends.

 

"So what do you do out here anyway?" Kiba wondered. He didn't know if Sasuke would even answer him. The grumpy shinobi was probably waiting for Kiba to get the hell away from him.

 

"...I come to get away. From the village, from people, sometimes my own thoughts." Sasuke fiddled with the hem of his shirt as he spoke. His voice was uncharacteristically soft and _sad._

 

"Oh. I should probably get out of your hair, then. Sorry for bothering you, Uchiha." Kiba scrambled to his feet. He didn't want to push his luck. As far as he was concerned, it was a gods damned miracle that Sasuke hadn't kicked him into the river yet.

 

Sasuke's head whipped up to meet his eyes. "See you, Inuzuka." The sadness didn't fully leave Sasuke's tone.

 

Kiba decided that tomorrow, he was going to go with Akamaru to see Sasuke. He was right. The Uchiha _did_ need more friends.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiba meets Sasuke by the river again, much to Sasuke's surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is brought to you by Neon Genesis Evangelion, which I binged instead of writing this. Ope. In all seriousness though, if any of you haven't seen yet PLEASE DO SO. The subject matter is very dark and heavy but It's a literal masterpiece. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy these two awkward cuties.

Kiba kept true to his word, and visited Sasuke by the river the next day. The look of surprise on the Uchiha's face when Akamaru strolled up with Kiba in tow made a pang of sadness shoot through Kiba's heart. He shook it off as he drew closer, then plopped down on Sasuke's right, leaving at least a foot of space between them. Akamaru had no such constraints about personal space. The ninken licked Sasuke's face once in greeting, then rested his head in Sasuke's lap. The Uchiha's hand automatically found purchase in the soft fur.

  
  


"Hey." Kiba said warmly. 

  
  


"... Hey."  Sasuke replied. He eyed Kiba warily, as if he were unsure of his intentions. 

  
  


"I hope this is okay. If you want me to leave, just tell me to fuck off."  

  
  


"I guess I wouldn't mind the company." Sasuke muttered, staring resolutely ahead. His shoulders tensed as if admitting that was difficult. Kiba wasn't surprised. Uchiha Sasuke wasn't exactly the poster boy for expressing his emotions nowadays. Or ever. 

  
  


The two once again sat in silence. This was one thing at least that Kiba had a fair deal of experience in. Both of his teammates weren't the most talkative people in the world, and after filling awkward silences with incessant chatter during their genin days, Kiba grew to appreciate Shino and Hinata's quiet natures over the years. Instead of impulsively speaking, he grew to revel in his own thoughts, or enjoy the scenery around him. He decided to take the time to do the latter.

  
  


This spot in the village was incredible. He would have to remind himself to ask Sasuke later how he discovered it. The mid summer heat was a welcome presence on his skin. Kiba had just returned from a recon mission in the Land of Snow a few weeks prior, so the humid, sticky air and ever present beating down of the afternoon sun was a balm to him.

  
  


Kiba removed his sandals, then dipped his feet into the cool water. He resisted the urge to tip his head back and sigh in bliss. Yeah. Today was definitely a good day for relaxing. Kiba almost wished that Shino and Hinata were joining them. Sasuke may even welcome their company if he loosened up a bit. Well. Maybe. Getting the prickly Uchiha to willingly hang out with multiple people at once was probably too much to ask of him at this stage of... whatever they were doing was. Kiba was hesitant to call them friends since they had only started associating with each other.

  
  


Speaking of Uchiha, Kiba inclined his head a tiny bit to glance at his companion. The raven haired shinobi seemed to have the same idea as Kiba. His feet were also submerged in the river, but his sandals were much more neatly set aside. Kiba just haphazardly tossed his over his shoulder. He should have guessed that Sasuke was a neat freak. He looked the type. Sasuke was still absentmindedly stroking the tuft of fur on top of Akamaru's head, with the tiniest of smiles on his face. His eyes were closed, head tilted back slightly. He must have been enjoying the sunshine just as much as Kiba was. 

  
  


Hopefully the thoughts in his head were lighter than they were yesterday. Kiba had a hard time shaking the image of Sasuke's incredibly sad mismatched stare before he had left. He had only seen eyes like that once before, when the Konoha 11 were still in the academy. It was the same look that Naruto would have whenever he would see other kids with their families. A look of misery, pain, and unimaginable loneliness. Another pang of sadness came unbidden.  Kiba tried to shake it off before he became depressed for the rest of the day. Gods, Sasuke and Naruto had had it so rough. It was a wonder that the orange clad shinobi was as optimistic as he was...

  
  


_ No. Stop that. Getting all mopey won't change anything. _

  
  


He shook his head to clear it of depressing thoughts, then took in the sight of the sun shining off of the clear blue river, making it almost look like glass. He then turned his gaze to the emerald and rich brown expanse of the forest ahead. A gentle breeze made the leaves dance, and Kiba was slightly awed by how beautiful his home was. It wasn't often that he could just kick back and take everything in. A shinobi's work never truly ended. There was always a client to escort, a rouge to take down, or recon to be done. It was rare anymore to take time to just  _ be _ . Especially for Kiba. He was always on the move. It was just who he was as a person.

  
  


A contented sound that could almost be called a purr from Akamaru broke him from his reverie. Sasuke was currently scratching the sweet spot behind Akamaru's ear, making the massive ninken melt. Kiba scooted closer to Sasuke, hoping like hell that the invasion of the Uchiha's personal space wouldn't result in him being launched across the river. Sasuke tensed up a little at Kiba's approach, but didn't move away. Or try to punch him. That was a good sign. Kiba slowly extended his hand to scratch behind Akamaru's other ear, and Kiba barked a laugh as the ninken went boneless under the combined ministrations. 

  
  


"You're just a big baby, aren't you?" Kiba cooed at the dog. Akamaru grumbled in protest at the words. 

  
  


Sasuke went rigid at Kiba's proximity. The two shinobi were practically on top of each other without actually touching. Kiba could feel the Uchiha's body heat, which ran slightly higher than most since he had a natural affinity with fire chakra, and the scent of petrichor, mixed with... lightning (how the hell did lightning have a smell?) filled his sensitive nose. Sasuke smelled amazing. Kiba had to physically stop himself from burying his nose in Sasuke's shirt to take in more of that incredible scent. He was never more grateful than now that he was in control of the more, well, animalistic qualities that the Inuzuka clan were born with.

  
  


Kiba straightened, removing his hand from Akamaru's head. The ninken whined at the loss. He really was a giant baby. 

  
  


"So, Uchiha," Kiba awkwardly cleared his throat as Sasuke's onyx and violet eyes met his. "Are you feeling better today?"

  
  


The question obviously caught Sasuke off guard. Damn. Did so few people give a shit about his well being anymore? That honestly didn't surprise Kiba. The only people who even tried to associate with Uchiha anymore were his former teammates, Kakashi, and sometimes Sai. Everyone else tended to actively avoid Sasuke or just ignored him. The rest of the Konoha 11 at least made a small effort to speak to Sasuke if he appeared at a group lunch or something along those lines, but other than that, they left him alone.

  
  


"Yes." Sasuke replied after he gathered himself. "I... appreciate your concern, Inuzuka." 

  
  


The strangely formal words felt wrong coming out of the mouth of the former rude, brash asshole from their genin days. Kiba may not have known him well back then, but the war had changed all of them. Some more than others, it seemed.

 

"No problem, man." Kiba stretched his arms over his head, yawning widely as he did so. He could really go for a nap right now. Maybe Shikamaru was onto something. He could get used to lazing around if every day could be like this. Taking a page out of Nara's book, he lied back, pillowing his head with his hands, and watched the clouds drift by. 

 

_ They all look the same to me. Nara is full of shit. _

 

Quickly growing bored with cloud gazing, Kiba let his eyes droop shut. Taking a short nap wouldn't hurt anything. He had plenty of time before Hana expected him home for dinner. It was funny that Kiba was a grown man yet his older sister still treated him like a little kid. He wasn't going to complain too much, though. It was her turn to cook tonight, and she was amazing at it.

 

The sun was beginning to set when Kiba jolted awake. He had slept much longer than he intended to. If he did haul his ass home, either Hana or his mother was going to kill him. It just depended on who got to him first. He cringed at the thought. 

 

"Akamaru! We're late! We gotta go home." He glanced over to see his ninken fast asleep, curled up next to Sasuke's leg. Kiba shoved his feet into his sandals, then gently shook the ninken awake. Akamaru regained awareness quickly after Kiba repeated himself. He didn't want to piss off Hana anymore than Kiba did. Smart dog. Although, Kiba would take the brunt of it. 

 

"Sorry I passed out on you, Uchiha. I'll see you tomorrow." 

 

Sasuke's eyes widened at Kiba's parting words. As if he were shocked that Kiba wanted anything to do with him. "Sure. See you." Kiba gave a half wave as Sasuke took off in the opposite direction. 

 

Well, Sasuke would see him as long as Hana didn't eviscerate him for being late for dinner.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think! I live off of feedback.


End file.
